It was back in the mid-late 80’s that I discovered Celtic Frost. Their video for “Circle Of The Tyrants” was played on the Power Hour and I was mesmerised. Nothing had I seen or heard before was that heavy, or cool. I became obsessed with that song and video so much so that a schoolmate started calling me Celtic Bob and it stuck. Here we are 30 years later and I am still Celtic Bob and still listening to “Circle Of The Tyrants”.

When I read the news that there was going to be deluxe reissues of the Celtic Frost catalog I was beyond ecstatic. I was hoping for some nicely pressed LP’s as I am a vinyl junkie. Then I read there would be double vinyl sets with deluxe booklets and my excitement grew then, the more I read, the more something was not right. Something was missing..............COLD LAKE. My favourite Frost album was MIA. I knew Tom hated it but for the sake of completion?

Next up we have the sophomore release, TO MEGA THERION:

After a quick clean, as my LP’s were were a bit dusty with what looked to be fibres from the inside of the cardboard jackets, I popped it on my table and put the needle in the groove. From that moment, I sat, in awe at the glorious sounds that were coming from my speakers. Never in my life have I heard Frost sound so wonderful.

This is the album that contains the song that introduced me to Celtic Frost. As I mentioned above, it was the video for “Circle Of The Tyrants” that hit me like the hammer from hell. I admit, I cheated here a little and did not listen to this LP properly. As soon as I tore the cellophane off I immediately put on the second LP to hear that infamous track (EP Version) and holy hell did it sound glorious. WOW!! The cymbals at the beginning and Tom’s signature….”Ugh” blaring from my system was pure aural bliss. This is how it should be all the time. It was different, new, fresh sounding yet extremely familiar. After a couple of plays I started from the beginning to give the album a proper listen. While the album played I flipped through the book reading bits and pieces here and there, learning more and more about the band.

The packaging for this is exceptional. A beautiful gatefold sleeve, 2 glossy foldout posters and a beyond amazing 36 page book. Yes, 36 page book. The book is about 10x10 in size and filled with photos, lyrics, information and essays. I own hundreds of LP’s and apart from a couple of boxed sets I have never seen such a wonderful book included with a record in my life. I will be keeping mine on one of my bookshelves as it is too thick to store inside the record sleeve for an extended period. The photos of the bands early days is a real treat. Many of which I have never seen before. The cover itself corrects a mistake from earlier pressings that had the band logo on H.R. Giger’s artwork, much to his dissatisfaction. Personally, I think this is the best piece of art that Tom has ever used to grace one of his albums. It is one of the greatest covers of all-time. It grabs you and makes you think. Each time you look at it, you see something you never noticed. The imagery, the meaning…makes you think. You don’t get this with a download and it doesn’t come across as well with a CD either. This is how it’s meant to be. Pure art on many levels.

Even though these releases are no longer endorsed by Warrior I cannot help feel that he had a major part in how these turned out before becoming at odds with BMG. Either way, for Frost fans, these are essential.